Pieces of My Memory
by Ayingott
Summary: They have met once, memory forgotten in the time they were apart. But still, the affection still lingers and they want to prove it to Ryoma. Though, will the jealous brother allow it? /OT6, yaoi/ INFINITE HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes.

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**

**A/N: I don't know if many will read this, but oh well. This is the new version of 'Life Starts Now', as I promised. It will be totally different from the old version, so don't go all hating me just because I have changed the plot line a bit (a lot). **

**I won't delete the old version, so you can still go read it if you want to. Hopefully, this will be as popular as the first one. :)

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**Prologue.

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"_Ne, kid. What are you doing here, lost?" one of the five five-year-olds asked, crouching down next to the crying boy. "Maybe we can help you, ne?" he waved the others to come closer._

_The crying three-year-old looked up, his eyes red and puffy from the crying and fingers clutching the broken toy robot, sniffed and shook his head. "Rial-nii-chan's gone." Was all he mumbled and clutched the robot closer to his chest._

_Another one of the five, a much mature looking boy, crouched down next to the first and patted the crying child's shoulder. "Don't worry. I bet he's looking for you now." He pushed up his glasses a little and his eyes fell on the broken toy. "Is it broken?"_

_The younger nodded, tears still sliding down the red and wet cheeks, "I fell." He mumbled and sniffed one more time._

"_Don't worry. It can be fixed, ne, Gen-chan?" the one of the still standing boys smiled and ruffled the crying boys head.

* * *

_

He drifted in and out of conciseness as the plane flew through the mist like clouds and only the dark blue could be seen outside the small window on his right. Most of the people on the board were sleeping soundly, the big headphones covering their ears and blankets pulled over their noses.

His brother shifted in his own sleep and started to use his shoulder as a pillow.

* * *

_The six little kids walked hand-in-hand down the road. The littlest of the six was holding a broken robot toy in his left hand, while the right was being held by a smiling boy. The people passing by looked back at the six and either smiled a little or just awed at the cuteness of the scene. The fact that the smallest of them all was still sniffing just gave it all some cuteness points._

"_Where did you last saw your nii-chan?" The other smiling boy on the kid's left leaned down a bit and asked. _

_The short kid stopped and seemed to sink in deep thought, his eyebrows scrunching together and forehead wrinkling a bit as he tried to remember. He looked up again and blinked two times. _

"_Candy."_

"_Hmm…" the one with the glasses pointed to the closest traffic light post. "There is a small store at the corner of that street." He looked down on the kid with the robot._

"_Ryoma!" a woman's voice interrupted them and all six looked to their right. A really pretty woman, in her late twenties, ran towards them, the long hair fluttering behind her as she hurried to her son's side. "Where have you been? We were so worried honey. Rial especially, he was blaming himself all this time." She brushed her son's hair out of his face and kissed the forehead. _

_Then she tuned to the five boys, a smile of gratitude on her lips. "Thank you boys for taking care of this little one. I hope he didn't trouble you too much."_

"_No. It was fine." The one that had stayed quiet all this time bowed a little and stuffed his hands back into the pockets of his shorts. "We just wanted to help him." The others nodded in approval to those words._

_She smiled again and took her little one's hand. "Ryoma, say 'thank you' to them for helping you out." _

"_Arigato, nii-chans." He looked up with those big, wide eyes and smiled, for the first time during the whole time they were with the boy.

* * *

_

Someone was poking and shaking him awake, his eyes only tightened in response to that and he buried deeper into the blankets. "Five more minutes." He mumbled out from under them.

"No five more minutes, we will land soon. Get up, damn it! Ryoma!" his brother tried to get him out of the blanket cocoon he had created.

He groaned again, "Rial, stop it!"

* * *

_Ryoma was about to follow his mother back to the car when he turned around and looked at five. "Ne, nii-chans?" he made sure that they were listening; "I'm Echizen Ryoma, what are your names?" the curiosity in his voice was as genuine as a three-year-old could muster up._

_The five looked at each other and then one by one they started: "Well, my name is…"

* * *

_

_Their father barged into the living room, a large grin plastered on his face and a white envelope was clutched in his right hand. "Wife, brats, cat!" he started in a formal tone that indicated on something serious, "we are moving!"_

_They all, minus the cat, stared at the head of the family with confusion painted on their faces. The two teen boys turned to look at their mother, silently asking if this was real. She blinked out of the first shock and cleared her throat. _

"_What was that hun?" she tried to sound calm and collected, like it was just another case for her work._

_The man grinned and shook his head, "Like I said," the tone seemed to get on his wife's nerves, "we are moving. To Japan. Now." _

_The woman smiled and gently laid her hand on her lap, one over another. "Nanjirou, you have five minutes to explain, or else." She didn't sound happy at all.

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_

**07.02.2011.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes.

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**

**Chapter 1

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**

The twins stood in front of their new classroom door - one looked apathetic and not caring while the other looked a bit irritated and ticked off. They could clearly hear whatever the teacher was talking about, them to be more precise, and whatever she was saying didn't seem to impress, or feel welcomed actually, them at all.

"Maybe we should just barge in and stop this idiocy? Neh, R?" one of the two twin boys asked, turning his honey colored eyes at his brother. He was wearing a smirk on his lips.

The apathetic twin yawned, "Do what you want R. Just don't get me mixed up in this, I'm still sleepy." He ran his hand through the dark black, chin-length hair and yawned again.

The other pouted. "You're no fun Ryoma." He crossed his arms in front of himself and leaned closer to his brother. "And here I was trying to make your day interesting right from the beginning."

"Well thank you." Ryoma tried to back away from his brother, "And what happened to 'Let's call each other R, so that others can't make us apart' thing that you forced me into, Rial?" he glanced at the classroom door when the sounds of shuffling were coming from the other side.

Rial grinned, "We're continued it, of course. Since, it's for my cute little brother. Right, R?" he straightened up and faced the door again.

"Yeah, yeah." Ryoma mumbled to himself and prepared for the hell that is called introductions in Japan. He would have never had to deal with this if he were still in America, but no, his old man just had to decide to move.

His new homeroom teacher's head suddenly popped in front of him, she was smiling that forced smile, which gave out a 'why do I have to do this?' vibe. Well, it seems that Ryoma wasn't the only one that hated this. Rial didn't like it too, but for different reasons though.

"You can come in now boys." The teacher stepped out of the way. "You will have to introduce yourselves first, though. Tell a bit about yourselves, ne? You both can call me Hara-sensei." She waited for them to enter the room and then closed the door.

_Great, now I will have to deal with this pain._ Ryoma though bitterly when he faced his new classmates.

_Oh don't worry Ryoma; I won't let them bully you. _Rial thought back and slung his arm around Ryoma's shoulders. _I promised Ryoga to take care of you, after all._

Ryoma tried hard not to roll his eyes; sometimes he hated his brothers and their ridiculous overprotectiveness. He then decided to get this over with and spoke first, "Hello, we are Ryoma and Rial Echizen. We just moved here from America." Short and simple, that should be enough for them.

"If you haven't noticed, then we are twins." Rial smiled that charming smile of his. The one that tells of mischief most of the time. "So it will be a bit hard to tell us apart. Sorry for that, we can't really help it."

In the mist of those surprised, awed and ignorant faces one shy hand slowly raised up and after receiving the 'ok' sign from Hara-sensei she asked with a trembling and quiet voice, "U-umm.. Wi-will you tell us who is w-who, please?" she blushed a bit when Rial looked at her, Ryoma still not caring.

"I can, but I don't think it will help you, since we will get mixed up anyways. Ne, R?" Rial bonked his head against his brother's and smirked at the irritated look he got in return.

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma shook his brother off of his persona. _Idiot._

_How cute. _Rial once again thought back and faced the class, "So, you will have to guess, I guess. And we don't call ourselves by our names; you must have noticed that though." He smiled again and tilted his head to one side. "Let's get along, shall we?"

"I'm sleepy." Ryoma muttered and tucked his hands in the pockets of his pants.

Hara-sensei, who looked a bit throw off her peace, quickly shook her head and gestured to the two open seats: "You may go sit down now, pick one of the two open seats and get out your textbooks." She then walked to the blackboard and got ready to continue her lesson.

Rial looked a bit displeased. The seats were pretty far away from each other, one at the very back of the class and by the window (Ryoma already placed tabs on it) and the other was on the second row from the door and in the middle.

_Ryoma, I want to sit closer to you. _Rial whined in his head and looked hopefully back at his twin.

Ryoma gave him a blank stare. _Do whatever you want.

* * *

_

"Ne, Echizen-kun, which one are you?" A girl with twin ponytails was leaning against Rial's desk and their noses were almost touching. "Are you Ryoma-sama or Rial-sama?" she seemed oblivious to the piercing stares of the other girls in the class.

Now, it wasn't like Rial was not interested in girls (actually he wasn't in the least), but this one kind of got on his nerves. And she wasn't even doing anything. Yet. And that certain denseness she had did not make her image better in his eyes.

He smiled, "Saa… It wouldn't be fun, if I told you, now would it?" He didn't let any unneeded emotions wander in his voice, it would just cause misunderstandings. But he would protect his little brother from this.. Girl.

"But I want to know!" she puffed out her chest. "I, Osakada Tomoka, have decided to become your fan club leader as of now, so I have the right to be able to tell you two apart." She declared and pointed a finger at Rial.

Rial was about to say something back, after all, who would give her the right to do whatever she likes with him and his brother, when a new voice, just as annoying, if he may add, come into his hearing zone. "Tomoka, how dare you!"

"What was that Satoshi!" Osakada did a 180 degree turn, her skirt going up a bit and showing Rial a small glimpse of pink, and huffed again. "What do you want now? Another disaster you call tennis, huh?"

The boy, Satoshi or something, with a not so appealing uniborw made the same position as Osakada had done just moments ago, his finger pointing at her. "You are my girlfriend, so no cheating woman! And don't question my tennis, damn it! I have-" he looked pretty smug for himself.

Rial hated him already.

"Zip it with your three something years of tennis. I'm in the middle of finding out the truth and forming the 'Echizen Fan Club', so go bother someone else." She huffed again and waved her hand in the air. "Go and play with someone else for now. I'll give you your lunch later. Now shoo…"

When she turned around to face Rial again, he wasn't there anymore. "Sorry about that Osakada-chan!" Rial's voice came from somewhere closer to the windows, where he was sitting on his brother's desk. "But I wanna spend some time with my brother. Hope you don't mind." He gave her another sweet smile and ruffled Ryoma's hair.

The younger of the two Echizen twins was sleeping though, so he neither felt his brothers touches, nor hear the shriek that came out of Osakada's mouth (suspiciously sounding something like 'kawaii'). He also ignored the rest of the female population of the class, leaving Rial to deal with them.

* * *

The two twins walked along the first year corridor, moving in the direction of where the clubrooms could be found. Since this was long after the lessons had ended (they had to stay behind because of several things. Teachers called that 'detention') not many students were around them, and those that were still hanging around ignored the two teen boys.

"I hope that crazy girl won't actually make that club she was talking about." Rial sighed and tucked his hands in the pockets of his pants. "She was annoying."

"What club?" Ryoma looked at him a bit interested, now that he was actually awake he was a bit more social. To his brother that is.

Rial waved his hand in a carefree manner. "Meh, you don't have to worry about it. You know I only have you." He smirked.

"I didn't ask that." Ryoma glared, but it was a playful glare. Not the one he wore when dealing with people he didn't like. "I think I have to go there." He pointed to the backyard of the school, where the tennis courts could be seen in the distance.

Rial patted Ryoma's shoulder. "You and your tennis. Well then, in that case I'm going for the swimming pool. Who knows, maybe they'll let me join." He laughed and walked away. "Let's meet at the gate."

"Haai." Ryoma didn't bother to make it loud enough for his twin to hear, Rial would know anyway.

He made his way to the courts, the bounces of tennis balls became louder, as well as the laughs and calls of the boys that practiced there. Ryoma's eyes even caught the silhouettes of running students and those that stood on the side and talked. It looked the same as America, even sounded. But… It wasn't the same.

When he got close enough Ryoma tried to find the clubroom that his teacher was talking about. The person called Ando something should be there; he was the couch of the tennis team. As far as Ryoma had understood at least. But then a person, wearing a strange orange sweat suit, came in his field of vision. And he most definitely wasn't a student.

Unless, he was really stupid and had to repeat a lot of years.

Ryoma walked closer to him, the man somehow noticing him and turned around. The calculating eyes that the man had were a bit freaky and the freckles scattered all over his face, reminded Ryoma of some kind of horror movie character. He just had a hard time remembering who.

"Oh, what are you doing here, first year?" the man asked in his slightly hoarse voice. "Lost?"

Now, that was a bit uncalled for. "I came to join the tennis club, but since it seems that first year's aren't welcomed here…" Ryoma threw back and glared at him, not the playful one he showed Rial, and turned to walk away. But then a hand landed on his shoulder and held him in place.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Ando-sensei apologized and laughed nervously. "I'm the coach, Ando Tora, I usually do that to all the kids that come to me. No one had reacted like that until now. Sorry kid." He patted Ryoma's shoulder. "So, you want to join?"

"Obviously."

"Hahaha! True!" Ando-sensei pushed back the few light brown strands of hair from his forehead. "So, just give me your application form and, since you are a bit late today, come tomorrow for morning practice at seven. Bring your own equipment, if you have it of course, and yeah.. We'll see the rest tomorrow then."

Ryoma nodded, not really wanting to speak with this man longer than necessary and gave him the neatly filled application form. He watched as Ando-sensei read through the whole thing (and thanked the God that his mother did the filling in) and waited for his dismissal, since it seemed that he can't leave without it.

That's what the 'detention' was all about.

"Everything seems fine here, umm.. Echizen-kun." Ando-sensei folded the paper and placed it into his black folder. "So, you may go now and like I said, see you tomorrow then." He turned his back on the first year and faced the courts again. A sign Ryoma could go now.

The teen boy didn't bother to give curt bow as a sign of politeness, the teacher wouldn't see either way, and just turned to walk away, not seeing or sensing the stare that followed him, his every move. This day has been long enough already and there was a ton of homework given by the teachers too.

_Maybe I can get Rial to help me? _Ryoma thought as he waited for the running tennis team members to pass. _He's good at math._

A laugh resounded in his head and then his twin's voice echoed. _Sure, Ryoma. How can I say no to my cute little brother? _Rial seemed to be still in the middle of a talk with his new swimming coach.

_Stay out of my head. _Ryoma growled inwardly and headed to the school gate. He would wait there, since he had no idea where the swimming pool was. Rial would know where he is anyway, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

The smell of freshly baked potatoes and meat lingered in the house. Since the last time they had had something to eat was some time ago, the smell made their mouths water a bit and Ryoma's stomach to growl.

"Welcome back you two." Their mother's gentle voice came from the kitchen, "How was your first day at the new school?" her head peaked out of the kitchen door, a motherly smile gracing her lips.

"Mother dear, it was wonderful!" Rial pulled Ryoma up from the place he was sitting, "We're back by the way."

Ryoma gave a short 'fine' and walked past them both, straight to the dining room where the table was already set. The happy chatter of his mother and brother stayed behind him, Ryoma wasn't that talkative in the first place.

"Mom, where's dad?" Ryoma sat down at the table, already reaching for his chopsticks. Rial soon followed him. Bu then again, it was sort of a good thing that Nanjirou wasn't here, no one to bother him for a while.

Rinko poured them both some tea, "I think he's at the back… maybe." She sat in front of her two boys. "How was the tennis club? I heard a little about your lessons from your brother already. He got accepted in the swimming club too."

"I got accepted… I think. Well, he said I have to be there tomorrow at seven. Such a bother." Ryoma mumbled the last part, making sure his mother didn't hear it. She was always nagging him about sleeping too much and not getting up in time.

"Wonderful honey!" she smiled again, "Maybe you will even meet them again. If luck is on your side." She laughed a bit and got up to answer the phone.

Ryoma blinked a couple of times and then looked at his brother, who looked equally confused. "What did she mean by that?"

"Saa…"

* * *

**A/N: :D

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**

**01.03.2011.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes. **

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_Italics – thoughts, twin telepathy thingy_

**Bold – for other languages. English in this case, since they **_**are **_**technically speaking Japanese. But I can't. :D **

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**Chapter 2**

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Ryoma ran down the stairway and into the kitchen, his tennis bag and a pair of socks in one hand, while the other tried to close his white shirt, the strands of his hair were standing up and pointing to different directions, just like they had been the moment he had opened his eyes to greet the new day.

"You overslept again? I thought I woke you up." Rial drank his orange juice and watched in amusement as his little brother ate and got dressed at the same time. "Your fault Ryoma."

The younger Echizen twin only glared. "Shut it Rial. It's not my fault I can't get up at mornings."

"But it is." Rial pointed out to his twin, pointing at the said boy with his fork, the yellow of the egg dripping off of it and on the table, "It's because you go to bed at such late hours. Take a look at me, I go to bed at normal time and have no problems waking up. Learn from me little brother, learn." He smiled and returned to his eggs.

Ryoma scowled and something strangely reminding of a pout started to form on his lips. "You sound like Ryoga."

"Who sounds like Ryoga?" Rinko's cheerful voice made the two boys look away from their plates and in the direction of the living room, where their mother stood with some clean clothes in her hands. Even she sometimes couldn't tell her boys apart.

"Rial." Was all that Ryoma said and returned to his breakfast. "I hate American food."

Rinko smiled that motherly smile of hers and said: "You both do get along so well. Mother is happy, oh so happy. Now, if only you would be able to meet them… " she sighed.

"I have been wondering mother," Rial turned in his chair to fully face Rinko, his face and voice now serious, "But what have you been talking about ever since yesterday? I mean, none of our relatives live around here, so there is no one else that we could possibly know. I demand answers." He rested his hands on the back of the chair.

Rinko merely smiled. "I wonder."

"Mom!" Rial stood up and tried to follow his mother around the house in order to gain some answers.

Ryoma, who had been occupying himself with eating his breakfast, threw a quick glance at the black, round clock that was hanging on the wall, unprofessionally put there by his old man, and silently cursed under his breath. He couldn't afford to be late for the tennis practice when it is only his first time.

He quickly grabbed the tennis bag and bit in the piece of toast that was only half-eaten. He then slid his feet in the slightly worn-out tennis shoes and after yelling a quick '_I'm going_' over his shoulder was out of the house and already running down the street to his school.

_I wanted to go with you! _Rial's annoyed and slightly offended voice rang in Ryoma's head.

Ryoma tch'ed and grumpily thought back to his brother: _Your problem, not mine. I can't be late._ He turned right at the next crossing and almost sighed in relief, seeing as other members of the tennis team were still lazily walking to school.

* * *

"Now then, new kids." Ando-sensei clapped his hands together, his eyes shut and the annoyingly bright and shiny smile on his face blinded the ones that stood the closest to him, "Starting today you will all be the new members of our small club. You will all be doing the minor tasks, like picking up balls, cleaning the courts and things like that at first." He started to explain.

Ryoma ignored the weird teacher, who had changed his orange sweat suit to a neon green one today, and looked around. The second and third years were running laps and talking with each other, some even trying to play pranks with each other while doing the warm-ups. It was the perfect picture of a perfect tennis club.

Yeah, as if…

"… So you have no chance whatsoever to become a regular right now. When you will be in your second year, that would be next year, we will consider you as possible regulars. Clear?" Andou-sensei asked the dumbly blinking first years. "Good then." He announced after few seconds of relative silence. "In that case you can all…"

"Sensei." Ryoma called out to the man dressed in neon green and waited for the man to turn to look at him. "What if, my or someone else's abilities in tennis are on the same level as the regulars, what then?" he asked, wondering what kind of face will the teacher make.

Andou-sensei blinked once, twice, his smile gone and a slightly surprised look flashed in his eyes for a second there. He, however, quickly got himself together and answered the boy: "Then, I would have to test those skills that you are talking about and have a talk with the team captain, cute first year boy."

"Hmmm…." Ryoma hummed and looked away again. _Stupid._

He ignored the cute comment too. Nothing good comes from responding to it. Nothing.

_Aww… what got you so sulky Ryoma? You got to your practice in time, so did something happen? _Rial's voice once again sneaked inside Ryoma's head. _Should nii-chan go and help you out? _Rial teased.

Ryoma started to do the few laps that the show-off advisor of the tennis team made the first year boys do. The rest were starting to complain about the Spartan-like things they were already forced to do and stuff like that. Honestly, Ryoma wanted to hit them.

Instead, he pulled his white cap lowed and went a little bit faster than the rest. _Shut up Rial._

The laugh that resonated in his head and outside of it only annoyed Ryoma more. He casted a glare at the fence that he was running past and the boy that was standing behind it. Now, he couldn't really be sure exactly _when _had Rial shown up, but the fact that he was here didn't do anything to brighten his mood.

And he already felt like bright morning sunshine (sarcasm people, sarcasm).

"Say anything and I will hit you. With stuff." Ryoma growled at his twin and ran past him, not looking back and seeing the amused smile playing on Rial's lips.

When the rest of the fifteen year olds ran past Rial they did a double look to make sure that they weren't just imagining things. But after the possibility of the two being twins crossed their minds they calmed down and went back to ignoring the two and started random talks between them.

And yet, the youngest members of the tennis team weren't the only ones that had noticed the Echizen twins. Two pairs of eyes were following either the one running the laps or looking at the smiling teen that was standing behind the fence. The owners of those two pairs of eyes sent silent, unnoticeable signs to each other and resumed their own practice, knowing full-well that one of the two twins was watching them too.

* * *

"Ne, R, did you feel someone watching you?" Rial asked after the first lesson that Ryoma had slept through because it was English. And we all know that these two knew English better than any other student in their class… And maybe even other classes. And some teachers.

Ryoma lifted his head from where it had been lying on the English book. He blinked away the sleep (tried to at least) and yawned. "Except you, fangirls and a few of the ones that joined the club like me?"

The youngest Echizen twin wasn't as dense and oblivious to the world as one might think, it seems. Ryoma just preferred to be taken that way, plus, it wasn't as bothersome then. He was still anti-social though.

"Yeah, someone that is not one of those." Rial sat on Ryoma's desk and leaned his weight on his hands. He then looked down at his cute little brother (in his eyes) and asked once more: "Well, did you?"

"I think so. But it wasn't like they were watching me all the time. Just… Now and then." Ryoma yawned again and got the books for the next lesson out of his bag. He didn't really seem to care, as long as it doesn't interfere with his tennis.

Rial frowned. "You should be more concerned about this. It could be a possible future stalker." He flicked Ryoma's forehead right after saying that. "Didn't we go through this already, huh?"

"This is not America. And besides," Ryoma poked the red spot on his forehead where Rial had flicked him, "even if I do get stalked I'll just have to let you or Ryoga know and one of you will take care of that poor soul." He sighed.

"That is not the point R." Rial raised his hand to flick his brother's forehead once again, "This att-" he got interrupted right after that.

"Echizen, one of you two, I didn't know that you played tennis!" Horio stopped right in front of the two brothers and looked at both of them. "You could have told me, I might have even taught you some tricks so that you could improve your skills in tennis. I _do have_ five years of tennis experience!" he huffed in pride at the last words that left his mouth.

Rial looked at Ryoma, the other rising one fine eyebrow and then they both returned their golden eyes back at their still talking classmate, not really listening to whatever he was talking about. They didn't care too. Besides, Ryoma could easily beat the crap out of probably every single one of the club members if he really wanted to.

And Rial too knew some good moves in tennis; his passion went more towards swimming and painting. The Echizen family had more than enough of their share of tennis monsters, Rinko had told him when he was small and placed a paintbrush in his hand.

_Good memories, good. _Rial sighed as he still remembered his mother's words from that one day so long ago. He was thankful that she showed him the world of painting. He then quickly returned to the loudmouthed classmate of his.

"And why are you telling me this?" Rial tilted his head on the right a bit, deciding that he would pretend to be Ryoma, just this once. "I can play pretty good you know." He even added the irritation that usually colored Ryoma's voice when he spoke to someone that bothered him.

Horio stopped in half-word and looked strangely at Rial. "You do?" he sounded surprised, his voice and facial expression shoved a huge lack of belief to Rial's words.

"I do, want me to prove it?" Rial smirked.

Ryoma punched him in the side and hissed out a low warning. "Stop it or I will go and get all buddy-buddy with the swimming team's regulars for you." And hell, Ryoma usually did the things he threatened to do. It was something he had gotten from his mother, unlike the other two Echizen children.

"Che, ruin my fun R." Rial stuck out his tongue and jumped off the desk. "Either way, my little brother doesn't need your help, Homer." He stretched and turned to face Ryoma again, "Help me with science later?"

He went back to his seat after receiving Ryoma's curt nod and inwardly smirked as the screeches of '_I am not HOMER!_' that followed him. Maybe, just maybe, this school year won't be as boring as the ones he had lived through in America.

Once the science teacher came into the classroom and started with her lesson Rial threw a sideways glance at the window that allowed the people in the hallway to see inside of the classroom and glared. One of the tennis team's regulars, the same that was keeping a watch on him and Ryoma, stood there and after giving Rial a small smile started to walk away, pretending that nothing had happened.

Rial only narrowed his eyes and returned to listening to the lesson, writing down the notes that Ryoma was narrating in his head.

* * *

The rest of the day went by fast, just like yesterday. Once the lessons ended Rial and Ryoma had to go to their respective clubs, just like the rest of their classmates. Some of the boys walked in the same direction as the twins, all caught up in their own talks about the lessons and the way their clubs worked, Horio was the loudest of them all. As usual.

"**Ok then R,**" Rial turned to his brother, leaning closer to Ryoma's face, so that their noses touched, "**I'm gonna go to the pools `k? Send me a telepathic message once your club ends, so that we can meet up.**" He said in English, so that those not meant to hear couldn't understand.

Neither of the brothers cared about the glances they got from the other students that walked past them, they had done the same things at their old schools in America, so why should they stop doing it now? They even sort of liked to creep people out, Rial at least did.

"**Fine, fine R. I'll let you know. Now go, the water is calling for you.**" Ryoma bumped their foreheads together and turned to walk away.

Ryoma headed straight to the tennis club grounds, not bothering to slow down and let Horio catch up, since after all, who would want the annoying boy for a company? His equally annoying girlfriend maybe? Well, she did put up with this and, no matter how creepy it sounded, they _were_ currently going out.

_Has this world come to an end?_ Ryoma bitterly thought to himself and sighed. And there was still the whole tennis practice ahead. _How boring._

If people wondered why Echizen Ryoma, the boy that would kill for the sake of tennis, found tennis boring right now, then I would have to say this: tennis with no tennis _is _the mountaintop of boredom. Just like fun without the fun part sucks.

Ryoma threw a longing look at the courts and bright yellow balls before stepping in the slightly smelly clubroom to change in his sports clothes. He did it rather slowly, the rest of the boys, except some second years, were soon out of the room and doing their warm-up laps while Ryoma had barely gotten as far as tying his shoelaces. No, he wasn't doing it on purpose, no. He was just… tired from all that studying.

Yeah, tired.

"Oy, first year, don't you have to be running laps right now?" someone called out to Ryoma. The way he spoke meant that he was one of those types that liked to make themselves stronger and better than they were. But in reality, even a five year old could beat his ass.

Ryoma finished tying his sneakers and got up. "Hai, hai _sempai_. I'm going already." He didn't bother to at least _fake_ some kind of respect, he wasn't raised that way. And in no way was he going to show respect to someone like that second year.

"I didn't like your tone shitty brat." The second year spat out and stomped in front of Ryoma, blocking his way out, "Apologize to me, first year. Now." The black eyes bore into Ryoma's golden, the owner of those black eyes looking like a crazy buffalo, ready to attack.

Ryoma kept his cool and uninterested look as he asked, "Why? I haven't done anything." No way was Ryoma about to stand down.

"Huuuh?" the second year bore his hands in fists, "I said, apologize to me. Didn't you hear? If you don't-"his voice raised for a pitch as he yelled at Ryoma.

"Or you will _what_?" someone else interrupted the second year whose name never came up. Even when his voice was slightly on the soft side the hidden messages it carried were pretty hard to miss.

* * *

**A/N: I had patience and inspiration problems. Blame school and other shit for that. :|**

**Anyway, Ayingott here has a question for you. Is there something you don't/do like in my writing style and what? I have been getting all moody lately and thinking of maybe, **_**maybe,**_** changing (or trying at least) something in my writing style. Like, less detail (and shit) and more talking. Or more stuff going on in one chapter and things progressing faster.**

**Ayingott: SHAPE, SHAPE UP NOW! **

**Enter Gintoki: It's 'help me', got it? **

**P.S. I don't know why the last part. Because of too much Gintama? Yeah, probably.. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes. **

* * *

_Italics – thoughts, twin telepathy thingy_

**Bold – for other languages. English in this case, since they **_**are **_**technically speaking Japanese. But I can't. :D **

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The couple of second years, including the one that had been bothering Ryoma, stiffened a bit and exchanged worried looks between each other, silently trying to decide what to do now. Ryoma merely observed, not yet understanding why they feared the third year regular so much. He did look more like a girl than a boy, so it wasn't for the physical strength. Or was it?

"Fu-Fuji-sempai… We were just… Uhmmmn… Just.." one of the second years, a slightly chubby one with short black hair and glasses spoke out, all eyes turning to him the same moment. "Arai was just trying to… ahh… help him?"

The one called Fuji, as far as Ryoma could understand, smiled even brighter and tilted his head to one side, "I will ask again, or you will do _what_?"

The tone that this, so called, Fuji-sempai used left no place for lame excuses and lies; that much even the second year that threatened Ryoma just moments ago understood. The other two second years stepped a bit further away from Ryoma, Arai, the one that had bothered the first year, looking at the two that abandoned him to face Fuji alone.

"You see… I will.. umm… that is, help him, I guess… Fuji-sempai." Arai stammered out, his eyes darting between the floor, the third year and the clubroom door. He then threw a quick glance at Ryoma and continued. "You see.. He was having some difficulties… to.. umm… tie his shoes.. So, I just… I mean…"

There was a chuckle and the second year bully snapped his head up, his black eyes searching for something on Fuji's face. The fair-haired teen merely _smiled_. "_Leave_."

That one single word said so naturally and calmly, sent shivers down Ryoma's spine and made goose bumps appear on his skin. And it wasn't even meant for him. The sempais, to who the order(?) was addressed to, seemed to be frozen in place, eyes wide and unable to understand what to do now.

"Did you not hear me?" Fuji wondered out loud, his head tilting a bit on the right, "I said, _leave_. Should I remind you, that I don't like to repeat myself? Hmm?" he smiled yet again, or more like, the smile never lost its place on his lips.

"S-s-s-sorry Fuji-sempai, w-we will leave now." The fattest of the three quickly bowed and dragged Arai and the third second year out of the room, leaving a quick 'excuse us' behind. At least he had some common sense in him, for it seemed that that was his only positive quality.

With the three bully wannabees out of the room, it became quit silent, but not in the comfortable and light kind of way. Ryoma started looking pointedly at the door that hadn't closed properly. Fuji, on the other hand, seemed to be fully content, as far as Ryoma could tell, of his actions and was looking at the first year. Or maybe not. His eyes were closed, so Ryoma had no idea if he was watching at all.

It was kind of scary actually.

He blinked a couple of times and then tugged down his hat. "Thank you, sempai." He tried to sound thankful, but it probably didn't work out that good for him.

"You are welcome, Echizen-kun." Fuji said in return, not at all fazed about the obvious lack of thankfulness in Ryoma's voice.

The both stayed quiet after that, Ryoma really not the talkative type and Fuji… Well, Ryoma knew next to nothing about Fuji, except the fact that he could be quite scary. Even if he didn't look like it. It was a bit awkward and Ryoma wanted to get out, but Fuji was standing in his way, obviously still wanting something from the first year brat.

"Echizen-kun, may I ask you something?" Fuji then poke, his voice seemingly friendly. Seemingly.

Ryoma sighed, sliding his arms in the pockets of his shorts. "You ask me that even though you probably won't let me out until I will answer, right?" he has had plenty of experience with Rial in these types of games. "Won't the coach or captain or whatever you have here, be mad?"

"Don't worry about that. I will figure something out." Fuji laughed and sat down on one of the benches that were free of magazines, candy wrappers and clothes. "I just wanted to ask you about your name, that's all." For a moment there, Ryoma though that he saw a flash or electric blue. But it disappeared so fast, he couldn't be sure of it.

He mentally shook his head and frowned. This was it? Seriously? "Why? It's not like it maters which one of the two of us come to the practice. It will be one of us either way." He didn't see the point; they won't be able to tell them apart anyway.

"Oh, it's not about that." There was it again that fake-ish, creepy smile. "It's for my personal interest you see. Besides, even if you two look the same, you are different. So I just want to tell you apart, that's all." Fuji crossed his legs and waited.

Ryoma looked at him. "There isn't that much to choose from, is it?" he smirked, and walked out of the room. Why should he tell Fuji, who he met for the first time ever, his name. It's not like they knew each other and it's not like they even meet outside the club lessons.

"Interesting." Fuji mumbled and looked out of the window behind him, his eyes following the bratty first year. "We finally found you, Ryoma-kun."

* * *

"I don't get it!" Rial sighed in frustration and threw his notebook in the other side of the room. "This is stupid." He fell back on the floor, stretching his hands out as far as he could.

Ryoma finished the last question of his math homework and closed the notebook. "I thought you were good in math." He reached out for the unfinished can of Ponta.

"Oh shut up, dear little brother of mine." The oldest twin stuck his tongue out and rolled to sleep on his stomach. "I almost got into the team today." He said after a moment of silence, "But since they don't support the 'first years are just as good' theory…"

"None of the clubs support that." Ryoma lazily answered his brother and turned on the television, just in time for another cheap-ass soap opera. _A sempai from the tennis club asked me my name today. _Ryoma decided against telling Rial about his bully problem; he didn't want them in hospital after all.

_Why? _Rial closed his eyes. He wasn't a fan of the boring Japanese soap-operas. They always looked so fake. _You think that he knows you or something?_

Ryoma turned the volume up a bit. _Nah. Either way, I didn't say anything. But he was a bit creepy._

"Hmm… I see." Rial muttered and tried to get a bit more comfortable on the hard floor. It was normal for the two of them to suddenly switch from normal talk to thought talk. Plus, it creped out the people around them.

"Rial, don't sleep on the floor like that. What if you catch a cold?" Rinko huffed and dropped the magazine she was holding on the couch. "Get up." He voice told that excuses won't work this time.

Rial tried to fake a pout, but got up anyway. "But mooom… I was getting comfy too. Ah, but what is that, that in see on the couch?" he quickly changed the topic and snatched the magazine from where it lied, "So you still feel like a young girl, even after all this time?"

"What do you mean by 'after all this time' Rial?" The tone that Rinko used was overly sweet and kind. A tone, that usually promised some serious damage to one's health. A tone that Rinko usually used after discovering _yet another one_ of Nanjirou's dirty magazines of naked women.

Rial flinched after hearng his mother's tone and dropped the magazine where he had taken it from. "Oh nothing mother dear, nothing at all. Right, Ryoma?" his eyes jumped from his mother to his little twin brother, hoping that Ryoma would help him.

But that never happened.

"You said the forbidden phrase. I can't help you. Besides, my soap opera is on." Ryoma lazily answered and yawned. All males of the Echizen household knew that it was forbidden to remind Rinko of her age, so whenever someone made that mistake there was no chance that he would be helped.

_Traitor! Little brother, you are a traitor! _Rial thought to Ryoma, while running through the house and looking for a safe enough place to hide in for a while and wait for his mother to calm down.

Ryoma, on the other hand, simply emptied what was left of his soft drink and sighed. _It's your fault. You knew that it was forbidden._

There was a quiet 'tch' that only the two could hear. _I know, I know. Anyway, about that sempai of yours… Don't let him get too close to you, who knows what his real intentions are. With you being so cute and all that._

_Oh shut up. No one likes me __**that**__ way. _Ryoma frowned as he changed the channels, a past-time for the commercial break time.

_Should I remind you of the Otaku freak incident? Hmm? _Rial was quick to answer his twin, a small tint of laughter lacing the words directed to his little brother.

Ryoma didn't answer, only deepened his frown. However, when his soap-opera started again he quietly muttered to himself: "I know that myself."

* * *

The sound of the small, yellow tennis balls being hit and bouncing on the ground filed the fresh morning air. It mixed together with the excited voices of the tennis club members, as well as the few girls that had come to watch the morning practice. It was just a usual day.

"You there, freshman, remember us?" the same overly-confident and prideful voice barely pulled Ryoma out of the day dream he had gotten himself into.

Being the uninterested guy that he was, Ryoma simply glanced in, as it turned out to be, Arai's direction, the two lackeys that the second year had right behind him. The lack of danger coming from the three almost had him smirking, but the he opted not to. It would be more of a bother later if he would do that, thus making the leader of the three angrier.

So he chose the best way out of the situation – ignoring and leaving.

"Hey, don't you dare do that! Show some respect to your sempais, kid." The wannabee bully grabbed Ryoma by his arm. The tone of his voice was strange, as if he was half scared and half angry. Though, those black eyes shone in suspicious delight after seeing the annoyance on Ryoma's face.

"What do you want, _sempai_?" Ryoma asked, fakeness dripping from his words. He was in no mood for respectful and nice this morning.

Arai's nostrils flared and Ryoma could swear that he saw smoke coming out of Arai's ears. Funny guy. "I want a match with you." Arai whispered out, still griping Ryoma's right arm strongly. "Now."

"What good it will do for you to beat someone like me? It won't raise your social status; that much I can tell you." Usually Ryoma didn't like to make himself weaker than his opponents, especially someone like this dude here, but this situation called for drastic measures. "Release me now, I have training to do."

"Shut up and play me." The second year ground out between his teeth.

_Really_, Ryoma sighed and pulled his arm out of Arai's hold, _this is so troublesome. _He looked at Arai from under his hat and tapped the ground with his red racquet. "Fine. But don't blame me for whatever will come out of this."

Luckily, the show-off coach and the regulars had a meeting, an important one it seemed, so no one really cared what the two were up to. For now. Some of the first years, though, were standing outside of the fence and glancing from Ryoma to Arai, not sure what to do, since matches between club members without the coach's or captain's approval were banned.

Ryoma bounced the yellow ball for a few times, looked at Arai and then threw it up while bending his body a bit. When the ball came down he hit it at the other side of the court, smirking all the while. He didn't even try with scoring a point. For now, Ryoma would allow Arai to think that he is weak and play along while using his right arm. Because, really, why should he show his real skills so soon and to someone like Arai?

The ball flew between them for a few more times and in the end Ryoma hit it where it would be impossible for Arai to reach it, thus gaining a point in his favor. It was interesting to see the rage and embarrassment twist the second years face.

"That was a fluke, you brat." Arai growled and got ready to get the next serve.

_Pathetic. _Ryoma thought as he served the next serve, which, by the way, Arai didn't return back at him.

It seemed that, just as Ryoma had thought before, his sempai really didn't like to be bested at something. Even more, if his opponent was someone younger than himself (only by a year though). Too easy for Ryoma.

Another two points later Ryoma had one game in his favor. And he hadn't even tried to win, but Arai just stood there and ran around the court a bit. It was as if he was losing on purpose (which he was) and it seriously got on Ryoma's nerves. Honestly speaking, Ryoma wanted to destroy him right there and now.

"So now it starts, huh?" someone from the crowd whispered really loudly. "Arai usually loses his first game if he isn't the one that serves first, right? That freshman will so lose." After those words a nasty laugh followed and soon other second years joined the commentator.

Ryoma bent his knees a bit and got ready to chase the ball once Arai has served it over the net. The serve itself was nothing special; a bit stronger that the usual and maybe faster as well, but still, nowhere near what Ryoma had seen. He returned it with ease, watching Arai run after it and use a one-handed backhand to return it.

_Too easy. _Ryoma smirked and used a simple volley, while being right next to the net, to make the ball bounce over the said net and slowly land on Arai's side of the court. It wasn't a flashy or special move, but it was all he needed.

"Sorry, but you're nothing special, _sempai_." Ryoma smirked and rested his red racquet on his right shoulder. As far as he could predict, this will be his easiest victory since… In a long time actually. "Or are you still hiding something?"

He knew he was being a brat, but Ryoma liked to taunt his opponents. It gave the whole match a whole new atmosphere and vibe. He snickered in delight as Arai kept silent and got ready to serve. He seemed strangely desperate right now. So that lame serve was his ace? Really? How disappointing.

Arai swung his racquet and made the fuzzy ball fly over the net yet again. Ryoma sighed at the simplicity of this simple serve; was this all the fun that he would get today? He lazily returned it with a forehand to the far right corner of Arai's half of the court and won the point. This was seriously getting boring.

From the looks of it, Arai was ready to jump over the net and do some physical harm to him, but the slightly worried, panicking and angry as hell, voice of their flashy coach – Ando – got in the way of Arai's plans of possible beating. "What is going on here?"

"Sensei, it wasn't Echizen-kun's fault. Sempai forced him to play. We heard it!" some of the girls that had been hanging around the courts, and were, _surprisingly_, Ryoma's fans, ran to the orange sweat suit wearing teacher once he had come close enough. "And besides, Echizen-kun is beating him right now."

"Just keep quiet, all of you." Ando-sensei glared at the girls and walked inside the court, his eyes flashing from Arai to Ryoma, "You two, twenty laps for causing a ruckus. First year, I would like to see you after those laps in my office." He turned around and started to get the rest of the club members to get back to their own duties.

"Che." Ryoma sighed, gave his racquet to his classmate, that turned out to be a member of the tennis club too, and went to run his laps.

* * *

**A/N: This… turned out longer than I had expected it to be. I couldn't find the right moment to stop, so yeah.**

**And I also changed the title of this creation of mine. -looks down at her feet- I thought that the old one was lame and this sounds better. Don't judge me, I change my mind often, that's all. **

**P.S. I very much live off reviews. Just a reminder. :)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes.**

* * *

_Italics – thoughts, twin telepathy thingy_

**Bold – for other languages. English in this case, since they **_**are **_**technically speaking Japanese. But I can't. :D**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Echizen-kun, you never told me you already knew how to play tennis." Ando-sensei dropped Ryoma's file on his table and looked up to the boy in question.

Ryoma tried hard not to raise an eyebrow at that question. "You didn't ask, _sensei_." He managed to make the word _sense _sound like _moron_. Not many had that kind of skill.

For a moment there Ando-sensei looked like would start yelling things that little children shouldn't be hearing, but he didn't in the end. He merely took a deep breath and asked: "How many years have you played tennis already?"

_Does he think I am six or something? _Ryoma scowled, not caring that his coach can see the slightly pissed-off expression on his face. He didn't say anything to the man though.

Then, Rial's voice suddenly evaded the small faction of personal space that was left in his mind. Again. _Aww… Should big brother go there and stop the old man from bullying you?_

_Shut up and get back to your own practice. _Ryoma sighed and then pointed at his file that was innocently lying on Ando-sensei's table. "You would know if you had read that, at least the information about my parents." He didn't try to be polite. If the coach was this much of a moron, then there was no need for polite.

"Show some respect kid, even if you come from America, that doesn't…." Ando-sensei stopped when he read what was written about Ryoma's dad. There wasn't much, but the name alone was enough to make big tennis fans pee rainbows of joy. "E… Echi—Echizen Nanjirou?"

Back in the old temple that the Echizens used as a home one retired tennis professional sneezed and fell from the narrow wall he was sleeping on. One porno magazine was destroyed due to the fall.

"You are the son of only the greatest tennis player that has come from Japan? The one that they even dubbed as 'samurai' for his warrior-like moves and determination on the courts, his grace and smooth flow as he played. And you are his son?" Ando-sensei sounded like a damsel in love, so Ryoma chose to ignore whatever was coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah, so?" it was a typical answer for such stupid questions. Ryoma couldn't be blamed. "It's not like it's that much of a big deal. But it answers your question." A pause, "Can I go now?"

There was a heavy silence in the room right after Ando-sense finally understood what the youngest of the Echizen clan had asked him. He blinked a couple of times and then pointed at the uncaring child, back at the file and then at Ryoma once again.

"But, don't you want to be a part of the regulars?" his voice was weak and sounded as if Ando-sensei himself didn't know what to say now. "And play tennis…" the follow up was even worse.

Ryoma blinked again and then said: "Weren't you the one that said that my abilities should be tested first and only after consulting with the captain I would be accepted. Maybe, that is." He threw the clock a look and sighed, fifteen more minutes.

"Besides," Ryoma turned around to leave, "I am not that old man, so I have no need for special attention. My class is starting now." He didn't bother to bow and just left. There was no need; the slightly stupefied teacher wouldn't care anyway.

At least now.

* * *

"So he finally find out? Well, that was fast." Rial commented, boredom evident in his voice. The yawn that followed only made the lack of interest in this theme stronger. "And?"

"What, and? And nothing." Ryoma grumpily threw back, not really in the mood to talk about the stupid coach of the tennis team ether. He had a math test to worry about.

Rial glanced over his shoulder. "That one is wrong, as well as those two. And the last one might be right if you hadn't used that formula there." He was used to Ryoma getting snappy when he was trying to cram the lessons he had spent sleeping with eyes open, in his head before the test. "And you might want to ask that An-whatever dude to keep the father issue to himself."

Somewhere in the old temple that the Echizen family called home, one Echizen Nanjirou sneezed again. He then accidentally allowed his porn magazine to slip from its newspaper cover-up and out in the open, where Rinko saw it. It was the second lost magazine that day.

"You do realize that you won't be able to pass like this, R?" Rial took the offered pocki and returned back to his little brother again. "And then there is the fact that you don't get math at all."

A fierce glare was sent him as an answer and quite settled between the brothers. The laughs and talks of the other kids in the class made the comfy background noise, the teacher not in the class as she usually would be. Some tried to do some last minute studying, just like Ryoma, some just goofed around and made careless jokes about this and that.

Suddenly there was a tap on Ryoma's table. Rial sent a warning glance at the idiot who went by the name of Horio, but the unibrow kid ignored it. Just like all the other important things that life threw him on a silver plate.

Well, it won't be Rial's fault if Horio will meet death from an attack with an eraser.

There was a low growl before a murderous glare was turned to Horio. "What?" Ryoma didn't yell. No. he whispered in a deadly quiet voice that promised pain and even more pain to come after that.

"Ahh… that is…" Horio slowly backed away from the murderous teen, finally understanding that his life is at stake here, and silently asked Rial or help (which he didn't get), "There are some... ummm… sempais from the tennis club... eto, asking for you, one of you, to, uh, come out?" he asked, not quite sure what he needed from the youngest Echizen twin anymore.

"_**Huuuh?**_" the clear displeased and irritated tone made the poor idiot of this class fear for his life. It wasn't every day that the phlegmatic one of the two twins promised trip to hell and back just with his look and whispers alone. Again, not all people could do that.

Rial closed Ryoma's notebook, not at all bothered by the silent curses uttered at him from Ryoma's head or the way that the youngest of the Echizen clan graced him with one of his special looks. The one that could make even Nanjirou get on his fours and beg for mercy. A skill that their mother taught only to Ryoma and no one knew why.

The eldest of the two twins yawned again, "Just go, it's you club sempais, right? They might have been told about the father thing already. Just don't be too rude, at least _pretend _to be polite R." he returned to his seat, Ryoma's notebook squished in his armpit.

Ryoma scowled, but didn't say anything back. He got up and headed for the door, slowly, and after avoiding some of the most active students, slowly, stepped outside, only to come face to face with the sempai that had helped him yesterday and a guy he didn't remember seeing.

"What do you want?" Ryoma was direct and blunt, not caring about the proper customs and whatnot that the Japanese usually used when addressing someone older than you.

The guy that he didn't know gave him a stare that almost (repeat: _almost_) made him feel somewhat inferior as human being. The king-ish way that the unknown sempai was carrying himself and looking down on other people, including Ryoma, and still make them look up in such disgusting awe and admiration…

It pissed Ryoma off even more.

"You do realize," the still unknown teen flipped his purple hair, and made a pose, unicorn glitter vomit surrounding him, "that you are not supposed to talk like that with your sempai, hah?" there was only arrogance and amusement that showed up in that voice.

Ryoma really wanted to punch him right now. So much. "I did not know that Monkey Kings need respect too. I'm sorry, should I _bow_?" he was making fun of the other and the two sempai knew that damn well.

"You used to be so much cuter. What happened to you, your pms started brat?" The purple-haired teen smirked down at Ryoma.

There was a chuckle from the side and both Ryoma and the Edward Cullen wannabe turned their heads to look at the smiling sempai from yesterday. He looked very entertained and happy about something. Just like before, his eyes were closed, but this time the shirt of his school uniform had few of the top buttons open, thus, making his less dangerous and more sexual.

The girls loved the fanservice.

He tilted his head on one side, "Keigo, stop word-fighting with the first year. We came here to do something else, not to try and see who can come up with better insults." Just like yesterday, even if he was smiling the sense of danger never left Ryoma alone.

"You are no fun Syuusuke." The one called Keigo huffed and looked down on the first year again, "Our English teacher, Ando-sensei, the same one that takes care of the tennis club, asked us to get you and take you to see him." the way that Keigo spoke… he wasn't meant for this school, was he?

Ryoma sighed, "I don't want to see him. I have a test next lesson." He figured that the goofy coach will want to speak about his father again, or about having him play together with the regulars. He wanted neither of that, for now at least.

"Well you see, Ryoma-kun, Ando-sensei wishes to have your agreement with his decision to place you in the more experienced players group in our club. And he can't do that without you agreeing to it." Fuji slowly explained, not at all doubting his conviction that Ryoma is Ryoma. A strange person indeed.

"First of all, I don't care what he does." Ryoma scratched his neck, already knowing that Rial was just behind the classroom door – ready to call him back in, "And second, I am not Ryoma." He was so used to people actually guessing, on pure luck, which one of the twins he is, that he already had a habit of making it harder on them.

Rial was only ecstatic to help him out.

Keigo blinked, "What do you mean, you are not Ryoma? Syuusuke said that you are, the application said so too." He sounded so surprised and a bit offended. But that was all faked anyway.

Before the youngest Echizen offspring could say a word the door to his classroom was opened and his (Ryoma's) double stepped out, faking a surprise and a look of confusion. Rial was really good at playing someone he was not, as well as getting what he wants. But his mischief skill was not as good as Ryoga's. Yet.

"Sempais, is my brother doing something wrong?" Rial quickly ran over to Ryoma's side and hugged him, turning big, puppy dog eyes to Fuji and Keigo. "I'm sure you were the ones at fault here. So go away now." Rial seemed to enjoy this situation.

Fuji didn't seem too offended. "Oh don't worry, nothing happened. We were just having a little bit of innocent fun." He then turned to Keigo and they exchanged glances, and then looked at the twins again, "Are _you_ Ryoma-kun then?"

"No." Rial blinked innocently. "If you must know, we both are the same, so we both have the same names." He smiled, smirked actually, and released his hold on Ryoma, taking him by the hand, "Sorry nii-chans, we have a test now. Bye, bye!"

Rial pulled Ryoma along, they both disappearing the classroom and leaving the one slightly confused sempai and one highly amused sempai alone in the hallway, surrounded by first years. If Keigo wanted to say something, then he chose not to. The smile on Fuji's face was one thing that he did not want to see right now. Or feel the consequences of disturbing the tensai in the process of thought on his glorious self.

"I no longer am not sure, Kei-chan. Which one of those two is the real Ryoma-kun?" Fuji asked when they walked back to their own classroom, not at all bothered by the fact that lessons had just started not too long ago. "It's hard to tell since they act so differently and yet, alike."

Keigo refused to roll his eyes. "And you really thought that things would be so easy? Besides, you saw the look that the second one gave us, he has no intentions of giving the first on up. So, it is more likely that the one we talked to first is the right brat." He paused for a moment, and then added, "I liked him better too."

"I wonder what those three will say?" Fuji wondered out loud. He glanced out of the window where a class was having their P.E. lesson. "Sei-chan was looking forward to seeing him again." The sweetness of his voice was no longer a forced or faked one. It was real, reserved only for those that he cared deeply for.

* * *

Ryoma stared blankly at the small note that was taped to the tennis club room's door. It seems that he won't have to get up early in the mornings and stay after school for a while now. Ando-sensei was taken to hospital with a broken leg earlier, something about stairs, wet spots on the floor and leprechauns, and won't be able to attend to the club. And that means freedom.

_Oh great, sleep. _Ryoma smiled on the inside but stayed expressionless on the outside. After the whole 'The idiot I call my dad is actually a very famous pro tennis player and the man whose ground you worship' thing he had no wish to see the stupid coach. Maybe it was a good thing.

There was an annoyed sigh in his head. _No fair, they just intensified the training for me. Why must real talents be pushed under these Spartan trainings? Is it because of my great looks and adorable personality? _Rial complained, adding a whole rant about not being able to walk home with his cute baby brother anymore.

_Of course. They just love to have you around, doofus. _Ryoma sighed and turned to leave. It was another hot day and he thought of spending it by playing tennis with his father. Sometimes, the old man had his uses.

_Oh come on, Ryoma. At least get someone to walk with you. You know that you attract all kinds of perverts and things like that. _Rial was serious about this. It had already happened some times before. But that was America and this is Japan.

And Japan was probably worse than America. A lot worse.

Ryoma shook his head, although no one could see him anyway. Especially not Rial. _It will be fine. There are a lot of others walking that way, I will just blend in the crowd and stuff…_

But before he could hear Rial's answer he ran into someone. After falling on the softest part of his body, the sitting muscle, he allowed a hiss to escape out of his mouth, accompanied by a few curses in English. Once he looked up, sure that whoever had made him fall was a walking rock beast, Ryoma could feel his jaw opening up on its own.

"**Long time no see, Ryo-ryo.**" The human/rock beast sung out and crouched in front of the slightly dumbfounded teen boy, "**Long time no see indeed.**"

* * *

**A/N: So many lame jokes and proof of the fail that I call my sense of humor. Enjoy it!**

**And yeah… Someone appeared and he speaks English. And he's apparently evil. And I have no idea what will happen next. And I dare to call myself an author. Whatever. My story, I do what I want. :|**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes. **

_Italics – thoughts, twin telepathy thingy_

**Bold – for other languages. English in this case, since they **_**are **_**technically speaking Japanese. But I can't. :D**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

At first, Ryoma wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Run or kick the asshole in the balls.

You see, Al (Alejandro actually) was the creepy stalker dude that loved to stalk and kidnap Ryoma when he was still living in America. It was a hobby of sorts. He was the typical 30 year old, fat dude that had no sexual life and spent all his time playing Warcraft and relieving himself while watching at poorly dressed anime girl action figures.

He was the one that had tried to kidnap Ryoma once. He almost managed to do it too, if not for Rial and Ryoga. Ryoma was knocked out at that time, but from what he had heard it seems that Rial was the one that spotted Ryoma being carried to Al's van and then called Ryoga, who was nearby, before running up to the kidnapper and destroying his family jewels (not that he had any use for them).

When Ryoga got there… Alejandro was one unlucky man.

So the question right now is - Why is Al here and not in… wherever he was sent to after Ryoma's brothers had finished dealing with him.

"**Ryo-ryo, how dare you leave the country and not tell me? I had to go through so much just to find you.**" Alejandro grinned that disgusting pervert grin. His oily black hair hung over the glasses he wore and stuck close to the glass.

Ryoma glared and got up from the ground. "I'm Rial, you moron." He didn't bother to switch to English. Let the fat nolifer deal with Japanese. "Next time I see you, you are dead." Ryoma wasn't a good fighter, he sucked at it. Like, _really sucked_. The best he could do is look scary and hope it works.

There was a pause before Al spoke again. This time, the seeming sweet tone was gone. "**I don't know what you said,** **Ryo-ryo, but it's not good to lie, you know. Bad, bad things happen when you do that.**" He got up too, stepping a few steps closer to Ryoma. "_**Very **_**bad things.**"

"I am not scared of someone like you." Ryoma lied. Inside, he was shaking with fear and tried to get in Rial's head, with zero success. "So get away from me." His outer bravery was just a fake, nothing more than a fake.

"**Damn it, **_**I don't understand you Ryo-ryo!**_" Al screamed out in frustration, his oily fingers darting forward to grab a hold of Ryoma's arms.

Though, they never reached the poor boy. Someone stopped him mid-way, grabbing a hold of those fat wrists and stopping them in their tracks. Alejandro made a sound between a screech, whine and howl before darting his eyes up at the person who had stopped him from a possible try to rape Ryoma. Again.

Back at him stared cold, dark blue eyes that gave the clear message of 'Just try that and I will hurt you'. The look Keigo gave to the American pervert was enough for him to filch and quickly, after pulling his fat hand out of Keigo's hold, step backwards.

"**You know…**" Keigo drawled out lazily, his tone neutral for someone who was just moments ago killing with his eyes, "**As the captain of the tennis team it is my duty to make sure our members are not harmed.**" He spoke with sophisticated British accented English, just like Ryoma though he would be.

"**Who are you? Don't stand between me and my Ryo-ryo!**" Al screamed back at the third year, even though he was shaking in fear.

Keigo merely raised an eyebrow at the fat American before turning to Ryoma, who was now safely standing behind him. "Do you, perhaps, happen to know this guy, _Ryo-ryo?_" He had to hold back the laugh that was threatening to escape his mouth.

"I wish I wouldn't and don't call me _that!_" Ryoma glared. His glare was ignored.

"Stalker? Well, for someone as cute as you I am not surprised." Keigo smirked down on the glaring (read: pouting) first year and then turned to face Alejandro again, "**If I happen to see you again you can be sure that you will disappear, **_**forever**_**.**"

It was the same as saying 'I will kill you' only a bit kinder and not as obviously. Ryoma figured that for times like these the Monkey King was quite useful. Even if he did know him for less than a half a day. And even though he was very annoying.

"**You… Don't stand in the way of our love!**" Alejandro seemed as if he had lost everything that was left for him to lose. Meaning – his mind (what was left of it anyway). "**I REFUSE TO GIVE MY RYO-RYO TO YOU!**"

With that the suddenly mad stalker dashed forward, his fat legs tangling as he did so, but not stopping him from trying to attack Keigo, with a small paper knife clutched in his fingers (pulled out from his pocket). Keigo was ready to fight back, if the poor 30 year old virgin got to him, but he didn't need to in the end.

A flying random wooden sword knocked the guy out cold.

Ryoma blinked. "I didn't know Monkey Kings did magic." He snickered, eyes glinting with mischief as he looked up at Keigo. "You leveled up."

"And I see that you are still on your pms. Should I get you chocolate?" the third year, Edward Cullen look-a-like, smirked when Ryoma glared back up to him. "But sadly, that was not _my _flying sword, and no, I cannot do magic. It is most probably Genichirou's." he picked it up and then examined it a bit closer.

A boy, around Monkey King's age was suddenly next to them, crouching down to check the knocked out 30 year old man.

"Yes, that is my sword, Keigo." The newcomer simply sighed after getting up and took his sword back. He then gently slid it in the special cloth bag made for it. "Are you both ok?" he didn't bother to look at Keigo and the question sounded more like he was asking it just to Ryoma.

The slightly confused teen, Ryoma that is, blinked. Since when had he been here? Was he a ninja or something, to be able to get here unnoticed like that? But, he didn't seem scary and for some reason… He even seemed familiar.

He was tall, freakishly tall, with dark brown eyes and black hair. He wore a uniform that Ryoma had never seen before, not that he had seen many in the first place, and was carrying both a tennis bag and a special bag for swords. He could be taken as handsome, but Ryoma had seen better. Just like he could say the same about both Monkey King here and the creepy-ish Fuji guy.

"I'm… fine?" he stupidly answered and jumped slightly when the knocked out Al made a strange sound. He then looked up at the still unknown teen that had helped him and tilted his head to the right a bit. "Have me met before?"

Ryoma had a very bad memory when it came to people's faces and names. So, if he thought that he knew someone and that someone hasn't been by his side for a long time – it was like a little miracle happening.

The stranger didn't change his facial expression. "Maybe." Was all he said before finally introducing himself, "I am Sanada Genichirou. I don't go to this school but I am… _friends_ with Keigo. When I saw what was happening I kind of acted on instinct."

"Ahhh…" Ryoma merely said, not bothering to show more enthusiasm. Even if Sanada's ninja entrance was still bothering the first year boy.

The newly introduced teen looked at him, as if waiting for something, so he sighed before letting him know who exactly he had saved. "I am Echizen Ryoma or Rial." He inwardly smirked when the black-haired male showed surprise on his face.

"He has a twin." Keigo helped out Sanada, "And neither of the two let on which one is which. Kind of frustrating, really." The unicorn glitter vomit producing teen faked a sigh and flicked an invisible strand of hair out of his face.

There was no sign that would seem that Sanada was interested in any of this. He poked the sleeping American with his wooden sword though, "Should we leave him here? It's not like anything will happen to him. And should we walk Echizen home, just to be safe?"

"Let us leave him here. There is no need to actually go out of our way and make sure he is relatively safe." Keigo wrinkled his nose when he looked on the sleeping man again, "And we should really walk this guy home, no matter how much of a brat he is, it is out sempai duty."

Something that was in Keigo's voice made Ryoma shiver. "No, thank you." He said and tried to walk away. _**Tried**_.

He was caught by Sanada and forced to tell his address, so that they could fulfill their duty of a good sempai and make sure he gets home safe and sound. Whether he liked it or not. Sometimes, caring sempai sucked and were a pain in the soft part of human body – the sitting muscle.

* * *

"Why didn't you call me for help?" Rial asked yell-asked the next morning while the two of them were on their way to school. Since Ryoma's tennis club was put on hold right now (thanks to Ando-sensei and leprechauns) he had more time to sleep in the mornings. And Rial didn't have morning practices to begin with.

Ryoma glared at his twin. "I tried, but _someone_ had shut himself off. I wonder who?" It's not like he was angry and stuff. He just didn't want to deal with Rial's jealousy moments so early in the morning.

Rial had come home really late yesterday, because of his swimming practice. They had to decide the new regulars for the season and Rial just went and managed to harass the coach into letting him join the competition for the places. The poor woman had her mind changed about the 'nice, sweet-looking' first year forever. But, by the time Rial had come home Ryoma had already gone to bed, too tired for more of his brother's usual before-the-bed scenes.

"Oh yeah… I had that thing going on." Rial seemed deep in thoughts for a split second, before turning serious, "Then, who helped you get rid of that fatso otaku? Don't tell me, my sweet little brother turned into some monster?" Rial mocked a horrified expression, covering his eyes with his hands.

Ryoma sighed and rolled his eyes. The morning-Rial was a pain. Then again, Rial could be a pain whenever he wanted to be. "_No_. The Monkey King from yesterday and his boyfriend helped me. The fatso was taken out by a flying wooden sword." There was no enthusiasm in Ryoma's voice. He was sleepy and still tired.

"What, _he_ did? And his _boyfriend_!" Rial stopped in his tracks, making Ryoma stop as well. He then placed his hands on Ryoma's shoulders, "**My sweet little brother R, you are to never go close to them again. Who knows what will happen when you do. You are too cute for your own good.**"

The youngest twin of the two of them wanted to high five his brother right now. In the face. With a chair.

"**R, you are a fucking moron.**" He finally said and shook the hands off of his shoulders. "**You should sleep some more. For your own sake. Seriously.**" Ryoma was so tired just with dealing with Rial; school will probably be hell too.

"You two look so cute together, you know that?" the strangely familiar happy voice interjected, not bothering to wait for a more proper moment when to do that.

The twins both turned to see the source of the slightly out-of-place comment, only to find one happily smiling Fuji standing a bit behind them. He looked a bit like a stalker. Only not as creepy and less stalker-ish. Rial was the first that reacted to Fuji's sudden appearance.

The older of the two twin first years let go of his brother and turned to fully face Fuji. "What do you want?" he wasn't all nice and polite. Rial wasn't like that in general. He was polite only to people he recognized as worthy of his politeness. And right now, Fuji wasn't one of them.

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry… Umm, Rial-kun? I just heard what you two were talking about, that's all." Fuji titled his head on the right a bit and smiled. Continued to smile that smile that made all the girls melt."About my two lovers that is."

Rial didn't show any sign of his surprise and slight disbelief about the correctly guessed name in his body language after that announcement. Ryoma… Ryoma widened his eyes in surprise and stepped back a bit. He really didn't like the way that Fuji said that last part. It was scary as hell and he didn't know why.

"So it was you they were talking about yesterday?" Ryoma muttered out before really thinking it though. It was one of his bad points – talking without thinking thorough the plan of action.

"Maybe." Fuji lightly laughed and then walked past the two. He looked like he had so much fun messing with them. If that could be called messing with them. Knowing Fuji (but they didn't know him) – it probably was messing with them.

The twins watched the leaving back of Fuji in silence. When the third year was far enough Rial slung his arm around Ryoma's neck and growled. "That guy.. I don't like him." Rial then bonked his head against Ryoma's.

"You don't like a lot of people." Ryoma merely muttered back and started to walk again, slowly continuing his way to school. "Though, that one seemed kind of familiar."

"What 'that one'? Does my little brother need protection?" Rial snickered and ran to catch up with Ryoma. He could easily go from serious to goofy and playful in seconds, but still have that strange seriousness to him when joking around.

Many people in America tried to avoid the twins because of Rial.

Ryoma glared back again. "Idiot." He received a snicker from his brother for that

Only Rial looked back and wrinkled his nose in disgust after he saw someone disappearing in the bushes again. That damn Alejandro hasn't given up yet. Well, he will make him, in that case. With that final thought he put on a mischievous smirk and started to bother Ryoma again.

* * *

Ryoma started at the teacher. The teacher started back at the boy.

They have been like this for the past ten minutes already. It was a very strained silence that had settled in the room. The captain of the tennis team (Atobe) and the vice captain (Fuji) both just watched the silent eye battle that was going on before them.

If they squinted enough they could see the invisible lighting that passed through the space between Ando and Ryoma, both probably not wanting to give in to the other. It was one of the short pauses between the lessons when Ryoma was called out by the teacher (he had run away from the hospital. The nurses had used syringes as shurikens in their weak tries to capture the man with the broken leg).

"Echizen-kun, you are the son of _the Samurai_. Your skills must me on a whole different level than the rest of the first years, second years and even some third years. _You must become a regular._"Ando was close to crying now. "Atobe-kun agrees to this, as well as Fuji-kun. What else do you need!"

Ryoma didn't change his expression or even blink actually. "How do you know that _I'm_ the one you want? It might as well be my brother that plays tennis, not me. And even if I did, I have no need for a place that I got just because of my old man." He couldn't care less about the regular spot. All he wanted was to get out of his father's fame.

"You are the one that plays tennis, just look at your hands." The teacher impatiently noted, "But it is your skill-" Ando jumped up from his chair, the cast on his left leg clinking against the floor.

"But you still give me this chance because of my old man, _not_ because of my skill." Ryoma calmly cut Ando-sensei off. "If I was any other brat you wouldn't be doing this. No matter how good my skill was." It was a fact and they all knew it damn well.

"But… but you…" the poor tennis coach slid back down in his chair, so very close to crying in hysteria. "I… Skill… I hate my job." His head made a very loud noise when it hit the table.

Ryoma simply stared. Fuji laughed quietly to himself. Keigo wasn't even paying attention.

Ryoma caught Fuji glancing at Keigo from the corner of his eyes and then back at the teacher and finally landing his eyes on Ryoma himself. There was an idea being plotted in that pretty head of his and everybody could feel it. Finally, he stepped a bit forward and smiled: "Well then, how about we do it like this?"

* * *

**A/N: This chapter sucks. -.- but I love it anyway. I HAVE NO REGRETS!**

**Next week… Will be really horrible for me, so I may not update anything, just so you know. And… If you want more of my suck-ish humor – just say the word. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes. **

_Italics – thoughts, twin telepathy thingy_

**Bold – for other languages. English in this case, since they **_**are **_**technically speaking Japanese. But I can't. :D**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"Tell me one more time, exactly why am I doing this again?" Ryoma asked the two behind him, his tone implying of boredom and utter disinterest.

Fuji's hand on Ryoma's shoulder (the golden-eyed teen did not like the physical contact, but all his protests were denied) tightened its hold. "We are here to test your skills, of course. Since you don't want to become a part of the team because of your father's name. Right, Keigo?"

"Yes, precisely." Keigo smirked and looked down on the peeved first-year. "You are to have a match with me and then Ando-sensei will determine whether you are strong enough to be a regular member." He raised his racket and placed it on his right shoulder.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes a bit. "I still have lessons." It was a weak argument, he knew that, but it will have to do. The youngest Echizen twin didn't want to do this. Not like this.

"They will be taken care of." Fuji calmly said and pushed Ryoma forward, towards the court.

The two, Ryoma and Keigo, had already changed; the first was forced to do so. Then they had gone to the inside courts for a face-off match. Ryoma wasn't really up to it, it being a forced thing and all that, but when the purple-haired captain of the tennis team stepped on the court the first-year froze. He blinked a few times, before smirking. The aura that Keigo started to give off…

It felt like that of a wild beast, getting ready for yet another hunt.

"Ne, smiling-sempai, is the Monkey King strong?" Ryoma asked, his eyes fixated on the captain of the tennis team. It has been a long time since someone had overwhelmed him with his aura alone.

Fuji smiled a knowing smile, more than the one that was playing on his lips usually, and patted Ryoma on the shoulder. "One of the best in this age group. There are, of course, others." The smiling genius knew that this was the best way to get the short prodigy to become a regular. And be always close to them.

"Omoshiroi." A small whisper escaped past Ryoma's lips before he took his stance in front on Keigo at the other side of the court. He was suddenly very interested in the sempai that was staring back at him, with the amusement dancing in his eyes.

Keigo watched the short golden-eyed boy as he warmed up a little on his side of the court. "You serve." He said and threw the small, yellow ball to the boy. He was interested in what the kid will let him see during the game.

Ryoma caught the ball with his racket and threw the round object a small glare, then doing the same to Keigo. He then smirked and went to stand at the base line, getting ready for his serve. From the corner of his eye Ryoma saw Fuji getting up in the referee's chair, that smile still on the senior's lips. He didn't like it, being looked down on.

Ryoma sighed, closed his eyes and threw everything out of his mind. Then he threw the ball up and bent his knees, the racket in his right hand already going up to hit the ball and make it fly towards Keigo. A twack and then the ball was already by Keigo's feet, a smirk found its way on Ryoma's lips when he noticed what Keigo was about to do.

The King was about to hit it back, but to his surprise (or maybe not) the ball flew up to his face, barely missing it. The captain of the tennis team looked at the innocent yellow ball lying behind him and smirked, "Interesting. This just might be fun. Serve."

"Heh." This time, Ryoma hit a simple serve, not bothering to hide the amusement that played in his eyes when Keigo looked displeased. He loved to play with his opponents; it just gave the game a nice flavor of certain excitement. "You're not half bad."

Keigo sent the ball flying back to Ryoma for the second time, "You would be too, if you stopped playing around." It was a challenge, and Keigo knew that his opponent would accept it.

There was a small glare that appeared in those golden eyes for a second, before the heavy smack of a ball against strings and then… quiet. The ball juts suddenly disappeared, as if it had been sent flying straight up in the air. Even Fuji's eyes opened for a split second before closing again. And then a small twack against the wall behind Keigo gave Ryoma the next fifteen points.

"Now you should stop playing around, Monkey King." Ryoma didn't smirk anymore; he merely stared at Keigo and waited for an answer. The lack of actual battle against one of his 'special' moves was not what he had expected from someone like Keigo. "Cause if you play like _that_ I don't want to be a part of this team after all. A captain should be skilled enough to return something as easy as that shot."

"Do not dare to mock me, brat." Keigo gripped the racket tighter, "I will not go easy on you." The playfulness was gone, in its place came the Atobe Keigo that the whole high school circuit of tennis players knew.

It was like two monsters facing off, both ready to tear apart and claim their victory.

Ryoma smirked, his golden eyes glinting with that predatory glint. The look he had, it was that of a lion that was slowly waking up from a long slumber. "Bring it on."

* * *

Rial watched his little brother getting serious for a tennis match. The youngest Echizen twin wasn't one to show such seriousness to just _anyone_. It meant that the flashy peacock was worthy enough, obviously. But still, Rial didn't like him and the Fuji guy too. The past was something he wanted to leave in the past and not make Ryoma remember any more that he already does.

He had gotten to know things from his mom, things that he kept away from his little brother, even sealing them away when the twins spoke in each other's mind. It was better left unknown; at least, that was what he told himself over and over again.

And then there was Al too, not that he was any danger or a major problem. Dealing with him… Well, he was taken care of already. Sort of.

Ŗial sighed and turned his back on the match that was going on; the echo of "1-0, Echizen leads" was all that the young teen heard before closing the door behind him. He had more important things to take care of, like making sure that Ryoga is well informed about what was going, just like he had promised before leaving America. Not that Rial couldn't take care of Ryoma by himself…

But a worried Ryoga was really annoying.

"I won't be giving my little brother away to them." Rial quietly uttered and walked inside the corridor that led to his classroom, putting on a bright smile when some girl started to talk to him. _I just have to figure out how to make sure that Ryoma doesn't meet them too often._

Rial already knew what he will do with Al. The fat American was a piece of cake when you need to deal with people like Fuji and Atobe and the other three that were bound to show up soon. The eldest Echizen twin sighed and took out his phone, throwing some excuse to the girl at the same time.

* * *

They both were panting hard, but their blood was still filled with the adrenaline that had taken over their minds during the game. The rackets tightly gripped in their palms, sweat trickling down their faces and body and the clothes sticking to the sweat-covered skin in places that it felt uncomfortable.

"You are good, I will acknowledge that." Keigo smirked down on the short kid hat was lying on the floor, face up and eyes closed. "Only few can make me get to this condition. Congratulations."

Ryoma didn't open his eyes, but his brows furrowed slightly, "Shut up."

They didn't know the score, nor did they know just how long had they played for. Fuji had stopped calling the score a long time ago, after seeing that right then, the world was nothing but a blur to the two, only the match, the thrill that coursed through their blood remained. It had been such a long time for Ryoma to be able too feel like that, to be able to put his all on the line against someone.

"Magnificent! I knew you could do it, Echizen!" Ando-sensei finally walked on the court, clapping his hands awkwardly and beaming that annoyingly pleased smile. "Now then, we will have to free a spot on the regulars for you, since that was what we agreed on. Any suggestions, captain, vice-captain?" he turned to Keigo and Fuji.

"Well," Fuji got down from the referees chair and walked to where Ando-sensei was standing, "in my humble opinion, either Yuki-chan or that one second year that got in last time… Arai, was it, will have to go." the fair-haired teen crooked his head on one side and threw Keigo a look.

The captain of the boy's tennis team sighed and ran his left hand though his wet hair, seemingly thinking. "Arai will go. Yukihiro will be coming back soon and he is far too skilled to be put in the same place as that clown." Keigo walked to get his water bottle from the bench.

"I don't want to interrupt you guys, but can I go now?" Ryoma didn't really care about all of this, he was a part of the regulars now and now he will get to play strong (hopefully) players. "I still have homework to do today and my brother is waiting for me already."

It was a good game and all, but Ryoma didn't want to be around Fuji and the stupid tennis team's coach longer than necessary. He had that itchy feeling that he _knew_ Fuji somehow (the same way as Sanada) since a while ago. But it was the kind of feeling when you are not sure whether you want to remember the person or not.

So Ryoma did the one thing he usually did, leave as quickly as possible.

"Oh well… I guess, lessons just ended too. Yes." Andou-sensei adjusted his hold on the crutch that he had taken with him while running away from the hospital. "You will be told when the club activities start again, as well as the practices for regulars only. Now go, go." The man waved at the boy with one hand, to let him know that he can go.

_Idiot. _Ryoma rolled his eyes and started his walk back to the dressing rooms.

_You're finally done?_ Rial's excited voice startled Ryoma, which wasn't something that happened a lot. _I was starting to wonder where you were. Or, whether you are still playing, since you like the long games when the opponent is strong enough._ There was laughter after that.

Ryoma rolled his eyes again, _Idiot. I just finished. They said that they will make me a regular now, after they forced me to play that match. _He took off his sweaty shirt and just threw it inside his bag. _Not that I care much._

_Gongratz little brother of mine! You should tell mom and dad about it later._ Rial congratulated him and then suddenly got quiet; probably someone he knew had started talk with him. Not that their current conversation was that important and with a point.

This day had been a long one for him, not to mention somewhat exciting. He was tried, but not to the extent of suddenly falling over. It was the pleasant form of exhaustion, the one that left one feeling full of all that positive energy and the calming thought of 'I did my all today'. It was the kind of tiredness that Ryoma hadn't felt in a while, just like the rush of blood and adrenaline when he played against Keigo. It was like finally waking up after a long sleep.

It felt great. He felt great. He felt… Like never before.

And it was a truly addicting feeling.

* * *

"Keigo, Syuusuke, you finally came. Didn't you say that the club activities were suspended for the time being?" a soft, seemingly kind voice asked the two teens that joined the two by the small table.

Keigo first ordered something to drink, before answering his boyfriend. "Sorry, Seiichi. There was something we had to do, no matter what. Ando-sensei's request, somewhat." He leaned back, against the chair and crossed his legs.

"Mhm, it was about Ryo-chan, after all. How could we say no?" Fuji smiled and poked Sanada's leg under the table. It was a silent greeting that he always used when meeting up in places like the small café that they were in at the moment. "Although, it was my idea originally."

"Ohh… Do tell." The one called Seiichi rested his chin on top of his palms, his elbows supporting the weight of his head now. "I really want to meet him. Too bad Genichirou didn't take me with him yesterday." There was a light, albeit fake, touch of sadness added to his voice, but the playful look in his eyes told otherwise.

Sanada merely closed his eyes, "You had practice." He was a man of little words. "You must train hard in order to become the best. You will have your chance." After he said that, the stiff teen took a small sip of his warm tea, ignoring Fuji's poke attack to his leg.

"You make it sound like I don't train enough." Yukimura playfully threw back, his soft purple eyes sharpening ever so slightly.

"That is not what I meant, you know it well." Sanada wasn't one to take Yukimura's word plays seriously; he was used to Yukimura's idea of jokes and such. That and having a boyfriend like Fuji helped one build up a pretty strong patience.

Yukimura was about to say something else, but Keigo stopped him, asking something of his own. "Where is Kunimitsu? Wasn't he supposed to be here too?"

Fuji, surprisingly, was the one to answer. "It seems he had to take part in the tea ceremony that his grandparents are organizing." he smiled at the slightly confused expression that Keigo had on. "He sent me a message during your match with Ryo-chan."

"He sent one to us all, I think." Sanada added, directing a stern look to both Yukimura and Fuji. The poking was slowly starting to annoy him, so it had to stop.

Yukimura smiled back to the peeved look Sanada was looking at him with. "You played against him? How was it?" the purple bore into dark blue, making Keigo shiver.

The rich teen hmp'ed and flicked a strand of hair away from his face, "It was like playing a monster. But then again, he didn't show me everything that he can do, just like me. It was, dare I use this comparison, thrilling."

"He hasn't changed at all. Still so cute and unguarded as I remember him to be." Fuji added, swirling the straw from Keigo's drink between his fingertips. "Makes me want to do something to him." it was said as a small whisper, but the three heard that clearly.

"I really do want to meet him as soon as possible." Yukimura was no longer smiling, his eyes turned to the little kids playing just outside the café. The purple locks shadowed his eyes, so it was a bit impossible to tell just was he was thinking about. "I really do."

* * *

**A/N: This came out so late, forgive me. But Yukimura showed up and Ryoma played tennis. Somewhat. I suck at writing tennis (+ I was too lazy) so there was no tennis game, but a scheming Rial. That's hot, right?**

**I will try harder in the future. –cultivates mushrooms in the corner of her room-**

**For those who worried about Rial becoming a part of the OT6, worry not! He will have his own man toy… Probably. Maybe. I still don't know. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I make no profit from making and posting this up. The characters are not mine (except maybe Rial) and I do not wish to be sued for this. Thank you.**

**Warning: Seeing as it is an M rated story, it should be understandable that there will be sex and other mature scenes (bad language, **_**maybe**_** violence). My spelling has not improved much during this time, so be ready for some pretty idiotic mistakes. **

_Italics – thoughts, twin telepathy thingy_

**Bold – for other languages. English in this case, since they **_**are **_**technically speaking Japanese. But I can't. :D**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"That's my seishounen! I _knew_ you were going to do well, I just knew it! Hahah! Rinko, bring me some sake, this calls for a celebration!" Nanjiroh patted Ryoma's back with such force that the poor kid almost fell of the chair. "And my other seishounen made it into the swimming team's regulars! I have two monsters as sons!" the happy man continued, ignoring the two glares sent at him.

Rial sighed and turned around to sleep on his stomach, "Why is he drunk already? I bet he smuggled some alcohol behind mom's back again."

"Not again," Ryoma threw a can of orange fanta to his twin, who was sleeping in the couch, "As always."

The youngest of the twins returned to his math homework, trying to ignore his father's drunk proclamations of fatherly love and the soft buzz and mix of voices that came from the television. He really wanted to finish this, but the numbers were constantly changing and forming these formulas that he didn't know how to use, confusing and misleading him even more.

And then there was tennis.

The tennis that his new captain had showed him. The tennis that felt more alive that anything Ryoma had ever done. Sure, he loved tennis, but not in the same way that Keigo did. It was painfully obvious that the elder teen loved tennis for different reasons, since Ryoma's tennis was made surely for the purpose of beating his old man.

Just for that.

So this new feeling, this feeling of freedom and excitement, the thrill of a rally, the heaviness of a smash and a return – it all suddenly felt so new and never before known to Ryoma. It was like he had seen tennis for the first time all over again.

_What are you thinking about? _Rial quietly asked in Ryoma's head, his voice low and quiet, not like the usual perky one.

Ryoma dropped his pencil on the notebook and leaned back in the chair. _About this and that. Tennis mostly. _He closed his eyes and tried to make all the noise around him disappear, _I feel like I have met them before._

_Them as in…? But you know, they are too pushy and touchy-freely with you. _Rial sipped his fanta and switched the channels, too bored of the sappy Japanese dramas that were airing. _I don't like it._

Ryoma chose not to answer his twin brother. To tell you the truth, Ryoma did find the sudden attention directed at him weird, a little creepy even. He had met his sempais just recently, not like they were from the same middle school or anything, and now all this happened. That tennis match especially.

And yet, Fuji and Monkey King were bugging him for the last few days and for some strange reason Ryoma couldn't get _really_ annoyed at them, like he usually did. And this uncomfortable feeling that he actually _knew_ them didn't leave. It was strange.

_Tomorrow's a day off, right? _Rial suddenly asked, casually dropping the previous theme. _Wanna go explore? I heard from my sempais that there's this huge adventure park. Supposedly it's the __thing__ around here._

_Ehhh... Sure, let's go. _Ryoma tapped the table with the back of his pencil and looked over his shoulder at his brother. Rial seemed carefree right now, but from the fifteen years of knowing him Ryoma new that that carefree attitude this time wasn't real.

* * *

"On second thought, this is freaking weird." Ryoma muttered under his nose and glared at the happy people around him.

Rial tsk-ed at his baby brother and then patted his head, as if comforting a small child. "You really don't get it, do you dear brother? It's all about male bonding. Male bonding!" he grinned when he saw the peeved expression on Ryoma's face.

"Male bondings don't usually happen in places like this." Ryoma sighed. He regretted the decision to leave his old cap at home today.

"So it's a little pink, you'll survive it." Rial answered and then grabbed Ryoma by the hand. "Let's go to that one! It looks like a barfer!" the giggle-laugh that the boy made was in no way comforting.

Ryoma was forcefully dragged to the monster-like looking ride, his deadpan facial expression staying in its pace, even when he was screaming for mercy on the inside. He should have known that this was a bad idea. Rial's obsession with things that make people uncomfortable wasn't something new. Ryoma should have known that his twin would go for the rides that make you sick and scarred for life.

He should have known.

"Oh come one, don't be such a sourpuss. It was a pretty awesome ride!" Rial patted Ryoma on the back, his eyes already searching for the next horror device to ride on.

Ryoma groaned and shot his twin a weak glare. "You weren't the one who almost said goodbye to his breakfast, moron." His face was sickly pale now, thanks to that never-ending spinning and the shrill screams around him. "Never again."

"You always say that, but still come with me, brother of mine." Rial snickered and stood up.

"I don't _go_, I'm _forced_." Ryoma corrected his twin and lied down on the bench. Now that Rial was standing he had enough place to do that. "Next time you use me as bait for punishing my stalkers, please let me know beforehand. My stomach can't take much of this."

Rial blinked, innocence actually radiation off of him. "Ehh…. You found out? How boring." He faked a pout, but then smirked. "What gave me off?"

"The fact that you forget to keep your thoughts to yourself sometimes, I heard you scheming." The youngest twin let out a breath and looked up at his brother, "Thanks, but no more."

"Hahahaha! Really… You're quite sneaky, aren't you dear brother of mine?" Rial's green-tinted black hair sparkled in the sunlight as he bent down to hover his face right above Ryoma's, "No wonder we're twins."

Gold met gold as the two looked at each other. It might have seemed as a romantic moment, but it wasn't. It was a silent exchange of few half-assed insults, name calling and jokes about stalkers. They sometimes did this, just look into each other's eyes and converse. It gave a better grasp of the other's feelings and mood.

"You know," an all too familiar voice cut in the twins alone time, "as much as I think that what you are doing could be quite charming, cute even, I am afraid it might scar the little children around you."

Ryoma's eye twitched and Rial grinned down on his baby brother. "Oh really? I would have thought that all that purple and glitter would affect them more." Ryoma sat up and glared at Keigo.

"Brat."

"Monkey King."

Rial just smiled and acted as if he wasn't a part of this. It was very amusing to watch the two fight it out with words, the insults were always well thought out and aimed to push the right kind of buttons. Still, he leaned a bit to the left, why have they multiplied now? As far as he knew, they were only three of them… And now they are five.

_They look even gayer than us two._ He thought to Ryoma, glancing back at the teen. He watched as Ryoma nonchalantly moved his body to see behind Keigo and then the slight twitch of the corners of his mouth.

There was a small sigh and soon Ryoma's thoughts vibrated in his head, _You know, I had my doubts before today, that Fuji and Monkey Kind were, you know… __**hitting it off**__, but now.. It's just ridiculous._

_I know what you mean. _Rial resumed his normal stance and offered his hand to his brother.

"Oh, Echizen brothers! What a coincidence to meet you here!" Fuji stepped besides Keigo and smiled, like he usually did. "One of you probably knows Genichirou already, right?" he pulled the unwilling teen to stand next to him.

_So that's him? The ninja man. _Rial smiled and bowed his head a little, in order to show respect. The elder boy in front of him looked like one of those that were raised in a traditional way, so politeness was probably much liked with these kinds of people.

Ryoma glared at his twin and tch-ed, not bothering to acknowledge Sanada, nor the other two that had joined them.

Now that the five were standing together it was clear why the two boys no longer questioned the nature of their relationship. If they had their doubts before, when only Keigo and Fuji were together, then now… The pink aura around the five was just ridiculous. Even Ryoma, who got the hang of things as well as he remembered faces and names, couldn't not notice this.

Especially since they were out of the school uniforms now. Rial couldn't quite explain it, but they just gave off this… _vibe_.

"Ohh… Are these the two that you talked about, Syuu? My, they do look cute together. Let's see… Rial and Ryoma, was it? Who's the one in the tennis club?" the blue-haired teen asked, smiling kindly at the two. He seemed kind at first glance, but his looks probably helped to give off that impression.

He had the same slender body build as Fuji, but he didn't posses the visible muscles on his arms and legs (he was wearing shorts). Short dark blue hair that went to middle-neck and dark blue eyes. He might be able to fool some people into thinking that he was a girl, much like Fuji, but that smile told otherwise. It had the same _edge _to it. The same edge that Fuji's smile had.

"He is." Rial pulled Ryoma closer to himself, arms winding around Ryoma's neck, "But you know, it's not fair, is it?" he enjoyed the fact that Ryoma wasn't struggling for once.

The teen blinked and asked, "What's not fair?" he got a _look_ from the other unknown teen of the five, the one that was wearing glasses and looked older that he actually was. "What is it, Kuni?"

The bespectacled boy shook his head a little. He was wearing simple clothes – black jeans and a short-sleeved button-up red shirt, his messy hair shaped his face nicely and if you got around the stoic face, he actually looked kind of nice. Although poker faced.

The bespectacled boy pushed up his glasses a bit and then simply said, "Introductions."

"Really, Sei, are you playing with us? You should really spend less time alone with Syuusuke. He is rubbing on you." Keigo made this unnecessary movement with his right hand in the air and then placed it on his hip, "Only Syuusuke would do that."

"I will have to agree with Keigo, Seiichi." Sanada added and then glared at Fuji for some reason, his hands going behind his back, as if to guard something.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes and then nudged Rial weakly. He was getting tired of this already. Rial, on the other hand, was more than happy to leave the company of his sempais as soon as possible. Even if he liked to socialize with people, even he was starting to get slightly annoyed.

He took it on himself to excuse them, if it were on Ryoma to do so he would simply leave. "If you would excuse us now," he said, "We would like to go now and continue to ride to attractions." He smiled a fake smile of politeness and turned around, pulling Ryoma along.

"Ahh, wait a sec. Why don't we go together? Since we just came ourselves? We can show you around too." Fuji was suddenly standing in front of them. When he had done that, the twins couldn't tell. The third-year leaned down slightly, so that they were on the same eye level, "Ne?"

The smile playing on his lips was, simply put, the smile of the devil.

"Oh, what a good idea, Syuu! I'm Yukimura Seiichi, by the way." Yukimura was now right behind Rial and placed his hands on the kid's shoulders, "And the one with the glasses is Tezuka Kunimitsu. A pleasure to meet you."

Ryoma glared at his brother and let out a small growl. _I told you this was a bad idea._

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for the crappy-ness of this chapter. I promise I will start to write quality again. I've just been in and out of writer's blocks (yes, many of them), exams and high school graduation. It was all too much for me. But I promise I will get back into this, as much as it is possible with me having these phases of not wanting to do a shit.**

**But anyway, I have a depressing-ish one-shot in the making and then I plan to update the rest of my ongoing fics and maybe finally take "For my Entertainment" off the hiatus. And hopefully, my writing will go back to quality from the crap that it has turned into right now. OTL**

**Well… thank you for putting up with me. I love you all for that! **


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